Sunday, September 09, 2007

Mustardy tomato chutney - Think Spice, Think Seeds

Another day, another food event, another day of participation in another food event - yep, this here is my entry for "Think Spice - Think Seeds" hosted by Sunita of Sunita's World.

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Not that it's anything extraordinarily out of the ordinary, because it isnt. I cant even be sure that I didnt read about a similar recipe somewhere else, sometime else... as far as I'm concerned, it was just a whim-of-the-moment to dry-roast and pound up some spices (which included mustard seeds) to make this tomato chutney. But what I CAN say is that it tastes different from the couple of recipes I posted on this blog in previous months. Different, but very nice. It's different to me in another way too, in that I usually cook the tomatoes down to a mush, and this time I didnt.

On a not entirely disconnected note, I bought a bottle of mustard oil a few months back, which I've been meaning to use... but I'm now looking for recipes which utilise it! If anyone has links or recipes, could they please point me in the right direction? I'd be MOST grateful...

Recipe for:
Mustardy tomato chutney


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Ingredients:

1 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped (not too fine)
2 tsp red chilli powder (or to taste)
a few curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
1/4 cup water (use as required)

Method:

1. Toast the 2 tsp mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds over medium heat in a small pan, till they're aromatic and change colour. Keep shaking the pan so that the seeds dont burn.

2. Cool and pound to a powder with a mortar and pestle. Reserve.

3. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the asafoetida powder, curry leaves and 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, cover and let them pop.

4. Add the tomatoes and cook them over high heat until they start getting soft (2-3 minutes). Now add the spice powder and chilli powder stir it in.

5. Fry for another 3 minutes on high heat, stirring frequently. Pour about half of the water into the pan, stir, cover and reduce the heat to medium high.

6. Let the tomatoes cook for 5 minutes covered. The water should be nearly gone. Add salt to taste, stir again. If you like, you can add the remaining water at this point and cook the chutney for another 5 minutes, if you feel the tomatoes are not done enough.

7. Serve hot or cold with chapaties, dosas or rice.

14 comments:

FH said...

YUM!:))

Rajitha said...

shyamala.that looks good..

Pooja V said...

ohhh la la...this is interesting :)

Nupur said...

Lovely picture, Shammi! The chutney looks delicious. If you are looking for a very quick and tasty recipe with the mustard oil (and mustard!), these mashed potatoes from Madhur Jaffrey's cookbook are a good bet: http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2007/08/mashed-potatoes-with-oriya-flair.html
Also see the recipe given in the comment section by "sachindra". It uses mustard oil as well.

Pragyan said...

Hi Shyamala, I use mustard oil when making eggs (reduces the eggy smell), especially poached eggs. Or for Aloo Bhaja aka potato fries. Link is here. Or Shorshe Chingri/Paneer Bhape aka Steamed Prawn/Paneer in Mustard-Poppy seed powder. Link is here. Hope this helps. First time on your blog. Nice blog.

bee said...

best uses for mustard oil:

haak (check out monji haak @ a mad tea party)

as bengali style posto

@ bong mom's cookbook or ahaar, or oriya style garlicky posta at jugalbandi

sra said...

Shyam, potatoes and mustard oil are a good combination. Check Sandeepa's blog, Bong Mom's Cookbook, for recipes with mustard oil - you can look at some Oriya recipes too!

Jayashree said...

Another tomato chutney recipe for me to try.....thank you. I love tomato chutney and am experimenting and trying to create THE ONE that appeals most to my taste buds. Will definitely be trying yours out.

Anonymous said...

Shams

that phots makes me drool!!imagine teh busrt of flavours with thayir sadam!!
Most begali recipes and to some extent oriya ones use mustard oil in them...so there you go!

s

Anonymous said...

I love mustard powder in recipes and this chutney looks like a great new way for incorporating mustard powder.

Now, mustard oil, I love to use in bengali style bhel. You can find it in my post -http://greenjackfruit.blogspot.com/2006/01/jhaal-moori-kolkata-street-food.html

Also, try this aloo bharta, it is awesome with mustard oil-http://greenjackfruit.blogspot.com/2006/02/mashed-potatoes-bihari-style.html

sunita said...

Hi Shyamala, the chutney looks lovely...thanks for sending it over.

amna said...

my grandmom used to make amazing tomato chutney.. reminds me of that :)

Anonymous said...

Ladies (and gent), a thousand thanks for the recipes and links! I knew I'd come across the recipes but couldnt remember the blogs (Note to self: ALWAYS bookmark!) I'm really looking forward to trying out all those lovely recipes. Thank you one and all once again! :)

Kajal said...

I like this new idea of tomato chutney. We never use tomato for chutney we use it for curry or gravy but I seen many of the blogger makes tomato chutney. I will try it.

I don’t know use of mustard seeds oil....:)